The Jeremy Lin dynamic was an amazing one to watch in New York earlier this year. Unfortunately, many “experts” decided not to give Lin the benefit of the doubt and, to this day, continue to criticize him. It’s hard to escape the notion that there is some prejudice involved. Certainly, at a minimum, there was stereotyping going on, as anyone who has played basketball at any high level knows that, when an Asian guy walks on a basketball court, the initial reaction for many is that “this guy can’t play.”

The discussion about his contract, to be kind, was misguided. Maybe Chris Rock said it best in a Tweet: “If linn were a 23 year old black kid who came straight from high school and had tat on his neck that said thug life and happened to score 38 points on the Lakers I don’t think anyone would question his contract.”

Truer words were never spoken.

And maybe Kobe Bryant said it best, in terms of his ability to play and the fact that he was overlooked, after Lin did torch the Lakers for 38.

“Players don’t usually come out of nowhere,” Bryant said. “If you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the very beginning, but no one ever noticed.”

The “experts” who didn’t believe (or couldn’t see) Lin’s obvious skill set (he’s quick, fast and has no fear but, most important, he simply sees the floor as a point guard better than most point guards in the NBA already), still had to stick with their stories this year. The fools (and there are a bunch) who said that his knee surgery for a torn meniscus was “just minor” clearly don’t understand what a damaged knee (of any degree) does to an NBA point guard.

You see, the day that Lin can’t compete on a speed level through injury or age is the day he can’t play in the NBA. But that’s true for virtually every quick NBA point guard.

The myths about Lin abound. He can’t go left? Google Jeremy Lin/John Wall Summer League Game and watch Lin torch the then-top draft pick by blowing by him twice to Lin’s left.

How about he’s a “shoot-first” point guard? Again, beyond stupid. Lin sees the floor better than most point guards, and he is just now finishing, essentially, enough games to have played ONE season in the NBA. He had to shoot a lot last year when “Linsanity”started. Why? Well, that’s easy.

In the first nine games of “Linsanity,” Anthony and Stoudemire were in the lineup together for only one game. They both were out of the lineup for three of those nine games.

So what’s a point guard to do? Score —that’s what. As an example, here’s the starting lineup when the Knicks played against the Timberwolves on February 11, 2012 — the fifth game of “Linsanity”: Lin, Chandler, Landry Fields, Jared Jeffries and Bill Walker.

Any questions? Of course he had to shoot.

Back to his “minor” knee surgery, where, clearly, Lin was a little gun-shy coming back. Criticized for that, he certainly was not 100 percent earlier this season. In his first game against the Knicks, he simply couldn’t cut or run as fast as he could last season. So the uninformed “experts” who made their bed last year by, essentially, saying that he was a flash in the pan, continued to criticize him as an NBA player.

But then came the second Rockets-Knicks game, where Lin, completely recovered, did whatever he wanted against the Knicks, shooting 9-of-15 for 22 points and getting to the rim whenever he felt like it (blowing by Raymond Felton or Kidd at will).

The problem for Lin is his tenacity. And while he would probably tell you that his fearlessness is the reason that he got to the NBA and has been successful, he really needs to back off and take a page from Russell Westbrook’s book. Westbrook, with the best mid-range jumper in the NBA, avoids lots of collisions by simply pulling up for 10-foot jumpers. Lin, rather than getting hammered by Chandler, needs to get over the macho stuff and pull up for short jumpers.

If he does that, he will lengthen his career, help his team and have a less likely chance of getting injured. Conversely, if Westbrook can ever see the floor like Lin does, Westbrook will become one of the three greatest point guards ever, behind Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy.

So Lin landed in a good spot and, now, with James Harden, will eventually become part of one of the top backcourts in the NBA. Could he have been better on the Knicks and made them a better team than they are now?

We’ll never know the answer to that question.

Felton, who has been excellent for the Knicks, has been aided by having one of the great point guards of all-time (Kidd) starting at the two. Would Kidd have helped Lin as much as he has helped Felton? Again, we’ll never know, although it sure looked like Kidd went out of his way to try to score on Lin last year in their second meeting — and even, maybe, try to hurt Lin in that second game.

Whether anyone will admit it or not, everybody seems to try harder against Lin for whatever reason. Add the poor, uncalled-for comments by J.R. Smith and Anthony about Lin’s contract offer from the Rockets, and you just don’t know what would have happened had Lin stayed with the Knicks.

But make no mistake about it: No matter what you read or hear from the “experts,” Lin is already a good-to-very-good NBA point guard whose game will continue to improve if he stays healthy."

Thankful that someone in the media has the courage and fair mindedness to speak up for him. Sadly, don't think it will dispel all the discriminatory remarks and change the confirmation bias. It is what it is. Human nature.

The Jeremy Lin dynamic was an amazing one to watch in New York earlier this year. Unfortunately, many “experts” decided not to give Lin the benefit of the doubt and, to this day, continue to criticize him. It’s hard to escape the notion that there is some prejudice involved. Certainly, at a minimum, there was stereotyping going on, as anyone who has played basketball at any high level knows that, when an Asian guy walks on a basketball court, the initial reaction for many is that “this guy can’t play.”

The discussion about his contract, to be kind, was misguided. Maybe Chris Rock said it best in a Tweet: “If linn were a 23 year old black kid who came straight from high school and had tat on his neck that said thug life and happened to score 38 points on the Lakers I don’t think anyone would question his contract.”

Truer words were never spoken.

And maybe Kobe Bryant said it best, in terms of his ability to play and the fact that he was overlooked, after Lin did torch the Lakers for 38.

“Players don’t usually come out of nowhere,” Bryant said. “If you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the very beginning, but no one ever noticed.”

The “experts” who didn’t believe (or couldn’t see) Lin’s obvious skill set (he’s quick, fast and has no fear but, most important, he simply sees the floor as a point guard better than most point guards in the NBA already), still had to stick with their stories this year. The fools (and there are a bunch) who said that his knee surgery for a torn meniscus was “just minor” clearly don’t understand what a damaged knee (of any degree) does to an NBA point guard.

You see, the day that Lin can’t compete on a speed level through injury or age is the day he can’t play in the NBA. But that’s true for virtually every quick NBA point guard.

The myths about Lin abound. He can’t go left? Google Jeremy Lin/John Wall Summer League Game and watch Lin torch the then-top draft pick by blowing by him twice to Lin’s left.

How about he’s a “shoot-first” point guard? Again, beyond stupid. Lin sees the floor better than most point guards, and he is just now finishing, essentially, enough games to have played ONE season in the NBA. He had to shoot a lot last year when “Linsanity”started. Why? Well, that’s easy.

In the first nine games of “Linsanity,” Anthony and Stoudemire were in the lineup together for only one game. They both were out of the lineup for three of those nine games.

So what’s a point guard to do? Score —that’s what. As an example, here’s the starting lineup when the Knicks played against the Timberwolves on February 11, 2012 — the fifth game of “Linsanity”: Lin, Chandler, Landry Fields, Jared Jeffries and Bill Walker.

Any questions? Of course he had to shoot.

Back to his “minor” knee surgery, where, clearly, Lin was a little gun-shy coming back. Criticized for that, he certainly was not 100 percent earlier this season. In his first game against the Knicks, he simply couldn’t cut or run as fast as he could last season. So the uninformed “experts” who made their bed last year by, essentially, saying that he was a flash in the pan, continued to criticize him as an NBA player.

But then came the second Rockets-Knicks game, where Lin, completely recovered, did whatever he wanted against the Knicks, shooting 9-of-15 for 22 points and getting to the rim whenever he felt like it (blowing by Raymond Felton or Kidd at will).

The problem for Lin is his tenacity. And while he would probably tell you that his fearlessness is the reason that he got to the NBA and has been successful, he really needs to back off and take a page from Russell Westbrook’s book. Westbrook, with the best mid-range jumper in the NBA, avoids lots of collisions by simply pulling up for 10-foot jumpers. Lin, rather than getting hammered by Chandler, needs to get over the macho stuff and pull up for short jumpers.

If he does that, he will lengthen his career, help his team and have a less likely chance of getting injured. Conversely, if Westbrook can ever see the floor like Lin does, Westbrook will become one of the three greatest point guards ever, behind Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy.

So Lin landed in a good spot and, now, with James Harden, will eventually become part of one of the top backcourts in the NBA. Could he have been better on the Knicks and made them a better team than they are now?

We’ll never know the answer to that question.

Felton, who has been excellent for the Knicks, has been aided by having one of the great point guards of all-time (Kidd) starting at the two. Would Kidd have helped Lin as much as he has helped Felton? Again, we’ll never know, although it sure looked like Kidd went out of his way to try to score on Lin last year in their second meeting — and even, maybe, try to hurt Lin in that second game.

Whether anyone will admit it or not, everybody seems to try harder against Lin for whatever reason. Add the poor, uncalled-for comments by J.R. Smith and Anthony about Lin’s contract offer from the Rockets, and you just don’t know what would have happened had Lin stayed with the Knicks.

But make no mistake about it: No matter what you read or hear from the “experts,” Lin is already a good-to-very-good NBA point guard whose game will continue to improve if he stays healthy."

Thankful that someone in the media has the courage and fair mindedness to speak up for him. Sadly, don't think it will dispel all the discriminatory remarks and change the confirmation bias. It is what it is. Human nature.

I read the entire article, the part on Lin seems like a rehash of similar stuff said last year while he was at NY. Not a damn bit of new info from this season was actually added save a brief mention of his contract.

well, when lin begins shooting 39 % on almost 20 shots a game then you can use lin and westbrook's name in the same sentence!

We don't want Lin or any PG on this team taking 20 shots per game. That's way too many for a PG.

I think you misread the Westbrook comment.
He was saying Lin should learn to shoot a mid range jumper like Westbrook. Conversely he was saying if Westbrook had Lin's courtvision then Westbrook would be a top 3 all time PG. Just throwing up shots has nothing to do with courtvision.

Back to his “minor” knee surgery, where, clearly, Lin was a little gun-shy coming back.

is the only really new piece of information and idk where he got this.

It's essentially giving an excuse. FYI, confidence is not an excuse for poor performance. If there's nothing wrong with you and you suck, you suck, period. So, it's worth it to know whether or not Lin was actually bothered by his injury.

well, when lin begins shooting 39 % on almost 20 shots a game then you can use lin and westbrook's name in the same sentence!

5 assists and 15 points a game..... not bad...oh wait thats westbrooks stats his first year....and Lin is shooting around what 43% right now.....and over the last 5 games shot over 50% and scored what 17 or so....if this continues which i expect he will be a top 5 PG in the NBA